But this abundance and variety are deceptive. Hunger and malnutrition persist in many countries in spite of increased food production.

In the food industry, a few ingredients like refined flour, sugar, soy, palm oil and high fructose corn syrup appear in a wide range of different products. What seems like variety is actually just endless re-engineering, re-combinations and repackaging of the same basic, highly processed ingredients. Meanwhile, rising consumption of ultra-processed foods such as fizzy drinks, crisps, energy bars and sweets are contributing towards a global epidemic of overweight and obesity, as well as diet-related non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

The world at risk

At the same time, the world’s rich agricultural biodiversity is at risk, and with it the resilience of our food systems. Agricultural landscapes are becoming increasingly simplified as the number of crops, crop varieties and animal breeds grown on farms declines.

Such heavy reliance on a narrow range of crops, crop varieties and animal breeds brings long-term increasing risks for agricultural production, for livelihoods, and for nutrition. It also undermines the ability of agriculture to adapt to climate change.

What can be done?

Citizens currently have little input into food systems apart from their consumption choices. Key policy decisions are often disconnected from the interests of both producers and consumers. How can we reorient food systems towards greater diversity, health, sustainability and inclusiveness?

A key opportunity is to look at how diverse agricultural production and diverse diets can be mutually reinforcing. Given that consumer demand and purchasing power shape the incentives that farmers have to maintain a diverse array of crops, promoting diverse diets helps to conserve agricultural biodiversity and support rural development. At the same time, diverse agricultural production can make a wide variety of foods available to consumers.Informal food systems play a vital role in fostering diversity in food production and consumption in many developing countries, and are often the cheapest and most accessible source of food for low income consumers. Rather than attempting to restrict or eliminate informal food markets, governments should allow them to thrive and find ways to work closely with food vendors.

We also need multi-stakeholder approaches that can ensure that the voices of all relevant groups are heard – particularly those marginalised groups such as smallholder farmers and women who play a critical role in safeguarding agrobiodiversity and diverse diets.

Five steps towards more diverse food systems

Reorient food and agricultural policies to encourage diversity, nutrition, sustainability and affordability, rather than only prioritising a small number of staple crops

Use markets to support diversity in production and consumption by allowing informal markets to thrive, using procurement, and investing in innovative agri-food SMEs that promote diversity

Promote and maintain local crop varieties, animal breeds and under-utilised crops by developing markets for them, adjusting extension services and fostering synergies between scientific and local knowledge

Nurture the biocultural heritage and traditional knowledge that underpin much of the world’s remaining agricultural biodiversity, including by protecting the rights of women, and

Increase awareness and catalyse change through innovative multi-stakeholder approaches like food labs, that explicitly bring in the voices and perceptions of farmers and consumers, including women and young people.

Food Change Labs and other work described above are part of the ‘Sustainable Diets for All’ programme, which builds capacity among local civil society organisations in Uganda, Indonesia, Bolivia and Zambia to advocate for sustainable, diverse and healthy diets.